
Nikki Johnston, PhD
Associate Professor, Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences and Microbiology & Immunology
Locations
- Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences
Contact Information
Education
BS, Anatomical Sciences, University of Dundee, United Kingdom, 1999
Honors and Awards
Charles Ferguson Clinical Research Prize, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology - March 2013
2012 Faculty Service Award for service to the Faculty Council Committees of the MCW - October 2012
Marquis Who’s Who in America 2013 - January 2012
Marquis Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare 2012 - June 2011
American Cancer Society / MCW Cancer Center Travel Award, to attend and present at the annual AACR conference, Orlando, Florida - March 2011
Broyles-Maloney Award, American Broncho-Esophagological Association, Phoenix, Arizona - May 2009
Broyles-Maloney Award, American Broncho-Esophagological Association, Orlando, Florida - May 2008
Best Abstract and Travel Award, The Union of European Gastroenterology Week, Copenhagen, Denmark - July 2005
Key Note Presentation, World Organization for Specialized Studies on Disease of the Esophagus, Paris, France - September 2003
Best Abstract and Travel Award, The Union of European Gastroenterology Week, Geneva, Switzerland - October 2002
Research Interests
Research Focus
- Extraesophageal reflux
- Use of pepsin as a marker for extraesophageal reflux
- Uptake of pepsin by laryngeal epithelial cells & its role in reflux - attributed laryngeal injury & disease
- Isolate and identification of the receptor with which pepsin interacts on laryngeal epithelial cells
- New therapeutics for reflux (pepsin inhibitors/receptor antagonists)
- Role of reflux, specifically pepsin, in laryngopharyngeal cancers
- Role of pepsin in Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma
Dr. Johnston’s research laboratory aims to test pepsin, as a marker for reflux, in clinical tissue and secretion samples from patients with diseases of the upper airway, demonstrate the effect of nonacid pepsin on respiratory epithelium using in vitro and in vivo models, and identify the molecular signaling pathways through which nonacid pepsin elicits cell damage. She has been investigating the role of reflux, specifically pepsin, in injury and disease of the aero-digestive tract for several years now. Dr. Johnston has presented this work at national and international scientific and clinical meetings and directed two international conferences on extra-esophageal reflux disease, the future: diagnosis and treatment. She has published the data in several peer reviewed journals, contributed chapters for reflux-related books, and edited a book on this subject.
In addition to investigating the role of pepsin as a diagnostic marker for reflux and its role in the pathophysiology of reflux-attributed inflammatory disease, her group has highlighted a potential role for pepsin in carcinogenesis of the laryngopharynx. Her research team is currently performing experiments to elucidate pepsin as a promoter/causal agent involved in early events of carcinoma in the laryngopharynx, and to investigate the mechanism by which pepsin causes/contributes to inflammation and carcinogenesis in the laryngopharynx.
Society Memberships
- American Association for Cancer Research
- Society for Bimolecular Sciences
- Association for Research in Otolaryngology
- American Broncho-Esophagological Association
- Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center
- Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin
Publications
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(Samuels TL, Blaine-Sauer S, Yan K, Plehhova K, Coyle C, Johnston N.) Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Apr 27;24(9) PMID: 37175640 PMCID: PMC10178445 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85152786973 05/13/2023
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(Blaine-Sauer S, Samuels TL, Yan K, Johnston N.) Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Apr 05;24(7) PMID: 37047737 PMCID: PMC10095080 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85152307105 04/14/2023
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Cancer Risk in Barrett's Esophagus: A Clinical Review.
(Beydoun AS, Stabenau KA, Altman KW, Johnston N.) Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 23;24(7) PMID: 37046992 PMCID: PMC10094310 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85152314734 04/14/2023
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(Johnston N, Samuels TL, Goetz CJ, Arnold LA, Smith BC, Seabloom D, Wuertz B, Ondrey F, Wiedmann TS, Vuksanovic N, Silvaggi NR, MacKinnon AC, Miller J, Bock J, Blumin JH.) Laryngoscope. 2023 Jan;133 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S1-S11 PMID: 35678265 PMCID: PMC9732152 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85131512635 06/10/2022
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(Stabenau KA, Samuels TL, Lam TK, Mathison AJ, Wells C, Altman KW, Battle MA, Johnston N.) Laryngoscope. 2023 Jan;133(1):59-69 PMID: 35315085 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85126774243 03/23/2022
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Alginates for Protection Against Pepsin-Acid Induced Aerodigestive Epithelial Barrier Disruption.
(Samuels TL, Yan K, Patel N, Plehhova K, Coyle C, Hurley BP, Johnston N.) Laryngoscope. 2022 Dec;132(12):2327-2334 PMID: 35238407 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85125521274 03/04/2022
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Association of e-Cigarette Exposure with Pediatric Otitis Media Recurrence.
(Lam TK, Samuels TL, Yan K, Zhang L, Adams J, Stabenau KA, Kerschner JE, Johnston N.) Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2022 Oct 11:34894221129013 PMID: 36217957 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85139551804 10/12/2022
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(Kurylo CM, Eastwood D, Blumin JH, Johnston N, Bock JM.) Laryngoscope. 2022 Oct 05 PMID: 36196929 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85139205806 10/06/2022
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Association of Pepsin With Inflammatory Signaling and Effusion Viscosity in Pediatric Otitis Media.
(Samuels TL, Khampang P, Espahbodi M, McCormick CA, Chun RH, McCormick ME, Yan K, Kerschner JE, Johnston N.) Laryngoscope. 2022 Feb;132(2):470-477 PMID: 34272879 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85110911486 07/18/2021
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How I Approach Laryngopharyngoesophageal Reflux (LPR).
(Stabenau K, Johnston N.) Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2021 Nov 19;23(12):27 PMID: 34799757 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85119598515 11/21/2021
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RNA Sequencing and Pathways Analyses of Middle Ear Epithelia From Patients With Otitis Media.
(Stabenau KA, Zimmermann MT, Mathison A, Zeighami A, Samuels TL, Chun RH, Papsin BC, McCormick ME, Johnston N, Kerschner JE.) Laryngoscope. 2021 Nov;131(11):2590-2597 PMID: 33844317 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85104152095 04/13/2021
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(Samuels TL, Johnston N.) Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020 Dec;28(6):401-409 PMID: 33060393 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85094932824 10/17/2020